~Once Upon a Read-a-Thon - FINAL Update~

"Once Upon a Read-a-Thon" is hosted by Angela at Reading Angel, Lori at Pure Imagination, Candace at Candace's Book Blog. It runs from 12:01 AM on July 11 to 11:59 PM on July 13th. 

I ended the Read-a-Thon reading: "Iron House" by John Hart

# of Pages Read (of last book): 278 (out of 432 pages) 

  

Total # Pages Read: 1,908 pages

Total # of Books Read (completed during Read-a-Thon): 5

Names of Books Completed: "The Human Race" by O.C. Heaton, "The Mistress's Revenge" by Tamar Cohen, "The Peach Keeper" by Sarah Addison Allen, "Divergent" by Veronica Roth, "Protect the Heart" by LK Hunsaker, and "Iron House" by John Hart (Incomplete).

 

 

 

Comments/Concerns (about the Read-a-Thon and/or your book selections): This was my second read-a-thon ever, and I had done extremely poorly on my first one, so when I signed up for this one, I tried to be as prepared as possible. Last time I didn't choose my books before hand, and ended up spending an insane amount of time trying to pick what I'd read next. This time, I made my TBR pile for the #OUreadathon and vowed that I'd only read any other title if/when I get done with the books I'd already picked. The other strategy that really worked for me was to read as much as possible at night. During the day I keep getting interrupted by family, for errands, housework, conversations, etc - so night time is the prime time for me to get ahead of my goals, and this strategy worked out really well, for the most part. The tactic that I didn't really employ, which I wish I had, was to choose shorter books - these allow for you to flit from different subject to different subject, keeping everything sort of fresh. I mostly chose my books based on how fast-paced I'd thought they'd be - or "mysteries" so that I'd remain glued to the book in pursuit of what would happen next. This also worked in my favor; further proof of this was, when I picked up the historical fiction novel "Protect the Heart", although it was a pretty good book, it took me longer than it would normally take for me to read 198 pages, because the pace in the book was far slower than the pace in the ones before it. Anyhow, OVERALL, it was a delightful experience, and I absolutely LOVED IT! A very big THANK YOU to all the people who helped arrange this read-a-thon, hosted mini-challenges, etc. You all know who you are...and you all deserve a big *squishy* hug! :)

Books I'd Planned To Read:

• Iron House by John Hart (432 pg.)
• The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen (273 pg.)
• The Human Race by O.C. Heaton (448 pg.)
• The Mistress's Revenge by Tamar Cohen (224 pg.)
• Divergent by Veronica Roth (487 pg.)
• Protect the Heart by LK Hunsaker (198 pg.)
• What You See in the Dark by Manuel Muñoz (272 pg.)
• Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (eq. of 385 pg.) - Audiobook

In Conclusion:  If you're on Twitter, make sure to add me and say hello! Maybe we can discuss some of the books we read during the #OUreadathon . Also, AGAIN, I want to THANK all the people involved with the Read-a-Thon, and all the people who participated. Special hugs & love to all those who visited my blog/updates and commented - you make my blogging-world go round!

~Spring Into Summer - Update #8~

Update:

• Total Books Read: 1
• Total Pages Read: 528 Pages
• Books Read Since Last Update: 1
• Pages Read since last update: 0 Pages
• Total time read: 4.5 hours
• Currently Reading: "Very Bad Men " by Harry Dolan
• How I'm currently feeling: I knew that I wouldn't be able to do much once my dad wakes up. He woke up and we surprised him with his presents, and birthday cards. Also, I made him his favorite breakfast, and we all sat and ate together. Then we sat down to watch some TV together - so I haven't gotten ANY reading done since the last update :(

Mini Challenge:

If you had bookshelves FULL of all of your favorite books, how would you organize them?

If I had a bookshelf chock FULL of my favorite books, I would organize them first, by genre. And then, on a secondary level, the books now sorted by genre would then be sorted by author's last name. And on the tertiary level, say if there are six books in a series, or six books by one author, they'd be organized in chronological order, according to the flow of the story (even if the prequel came later!). Chronology is very important to me! :)

Since we're on the subject of bookshelves, I just wanted to share with you guys, my dream bookshelf/library *le sigh*

Admont Benedictine Monastery-Library

Isn't it absolutely beautiful, and doesn't it look just like the library from "Beauty & the Beast"? 

But yeah, DREAM ON, right!?!? For that, I'd first have to buy a huge mansion. But, I guess I could compromise for something simple like this...

Look at that oak paneling, and the warmth of that corner. I mean, that would be the favorite part of MY house! I wish!!! *le sigh* Haha, okay, okay...I'll stop...coz I could continue dreaming...HAPPY READING! :)

~Spring Into Summer - Update #6~

Update:

• Total Books Read: 1
• Total Pages Read: 413 Pages
• Books Read Since Last Update: 1
• Pages Read since last update: 112
• Total time read: 1 hour.
• Currently Reading: "Very Bad Men " by Harry Dolan
• How I'm currently feeling: I finished "The Midwife's Confession" last night, and just began "Very Bad Men" - more hopeful about getting more reading done today! :)
  
  

Mini Challenge:

Put two characters from different series together (romantically or otherwise) and describe why they would be good together.

I know this just sounds silly, but I think it would totally rock if Eric Northman of "The Sookie Stackhouse" novels mated with Rosalie Hale of the "Twilight" saga. I mean, can you IMAGINE the babies they'd make. They'd be the new "Brangelina" of our times - but like, ten times paler, more beautiful and more deadly! ;)

~Spring Into Summer Read-a-Thon - Update Day #1~

Okay, so Day #1 is coming to an end - I mean, sure I have more time to read, but it's time to update, and let the world know how far I've gotten this day (trust me, not very far!). So, without further ado, here's my update:

1. First of all, give us an end-of-day status update.
   Answer:  I read "The Midwife's Confession" by Diane Chamberlain, which is an extremely interesting book. I've read about 315 pages so far, and it is coming to a close, and I'm excited to pick up my next book. I'm struggling to keep up with the posting, which sucks - but it's my first read-a-thon, and I suspect I'll learn! :) Also, I've been sick all day...and my fever is not really relenting, so I don't know how long I'll be able to stay awake. Also, it's my dad's birthday tomorrow, so I am sure I won't be reading very much tomorrow either - so I can kiss that coveted grand prize goodbye, but that's okay...I'm just happy to be participating. This is fun! =)
   
   
   
2. What is the favorite thing you have read today?
   Answer: "The Midwife's Confession" is all that I have read today, but in all honesty, I absolutely absolutely am loving it. So I guess that would be it!
   
   
   
3. Which mini-challenge was your favorite?
   Answer: I think the last mini-challenge with the book titles making a sentence was the most fun for me. Although I really enjoyed the one that prompted me to write - but then again, writing is my passion. This challenge was the most different one for me.
   
   
   
4. What has been your favorite thing about the read-a-thon?
   Answer: Just reading along with people; knowing that there are other readers/bloggers out there participating in the challenges, and striving to read alongside me! Also, the mini-challenges have been fun too.
   
   
   
5. What has been your LEAST favorite thing about the read-a-thon?
   Answer: I like everything about the read-a-thon, but if I really must complain and whine, the only thing I wished for, was a little more time for the challenges. Actually, I suppose the time was enough, but given there are so many different things that needed to be done - I would sometimes check the mini-challenge post late, and thus be scrambling to create my post for the mini-challenge. And it's not like you can schedule the posts either, because you don't know what the mini-challenge is before hand. But then again, I guess that is why they are called "Challenges" lol =P
   
   
   
6. Are you on track to meet your goals?
   Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Haha, I thought I'd be reading so much faster and so much more. But that's okay. It's not a marathon. I always tend to enjoy my books. In fact, the longer I linger on a book, chances are, the more I like it. I usually spend more time with a book BECAUSE I like it very much! =)
   
   
   
7. Will you be participating tomorrow? Do you have any new goals?Answer: My goal for tomorrow is to NOT have a fever, lol =P This is so that I don't feel sluggish, and sleepy. That totally interferes with my reading. Also, since it's ACTUALLY the weekend, and I don't have to work, I guess the goal is to check the mini challenges on TIME! =)
   
   

~Spring Into Summer - Update #5~

 Update:

• Total Books Read: 0
• Total Pages Read: 301 Pages
  
• Book I'm Currently Reading: "The Midwife's Confession" by Diane Chamberlain.
• Books Read Since Last Update: N/A
• Pages Read since last update: 141 Pages
  
• Total time read: 7 hours
  
• How I'm currently feeling: Only 301 Pages in 7 Hours. Needless to say, I am feeling incredibly annoyed! :(
  
  
  Mini Challenge:
  
  Okay, so I needed to create a sentence using only book titles, and needed at least 3 books! This was HARD...but it's funny because the more I began searching, the more I got into this challenge. Here are some of the sentences I came up with - let me know if you like them! =)

The Midwife's Confession Scars Tabloid City

 The Mockingbirds Abandon A Young Wife

 The Murderer's Daughters Abandon 22 Brittania Road

Sins of the House of Borgia Wither The Forest of Hands and Teeth

~Spring Into Summer - Update #4~

Update:

• Total Books Read: 0
• Total Pages Read: 160
• Book I'm Currently Reading: "The Midwife's Confession" by Diane Chamberlain.
• Books Read Since Last Update: N/A
• Pages Read since last update: N/A
• Total time read: 5 hours
  
• How I'm currently feeling:  Feverish, and sluggish. Took a break to have lunch so am even further behind on my reading, but enjoying the challenges and my book! :)
  
  Mini Challenge:
  
  Below is a puzzle made up of pictures - but the pictures actually denote the title of an upcoming book. Hint: It's an adult novel published by Simon & Schuster, set to release on July 5th, 2011. Leave your answers in the comments section if you figure it out! I'll provide the answer in my next update! :D Have fun...
  

~Spring Into Summer - Update #3~

Update:

• Total Books Read: 0
• Total Pages Read: 105
• Book I'm Currently Reading: "The Midwife's Confession" by Diane Chamberlain.
• Books Read Since Last Update: N/A
• Pages Read since last update: N/A
• Total time read: 4 hours
• How I'm currently feeling: Tired. I've been sick with a fever & a sore throat, and as much as I want to continue reading, my head is heavy, and I'm feeling sluggish and tired. My pace has been super slow because of being sick too! :(

Mini Challenge:

The Shaman wiped the sweat off of his forehead, and squinted in concentration. But being a 7th generation Shaman, he knew that all of his work was merely a combination of science and faith. One without the other, and the charm of it all dissipated. He aimed the laser at the emaciated billy goat in front of him, and fired. After a resounding pop and a bright flash of light, out of the goat's butt popped out a lime!

"Drat!" He glared at the poor, indifferent goat, and reprimanded him. "I need you to be dropping lemons, not limes!"

~Spring Into Summer - Update #2~

Update:

• Total Books Read: 0
• Total Pages Read: 84
• Book I'm Currently Reading: "The Midwife's Confession" by Diane Chamberlain.
• Books Read Since Last Update: N/A
• Pages Read since last update: N/A
• Total time read: 2 hours.
• How I'm currently feeling: Again, I'm worried that I'm not really reading fast enough (as you can tell by my updates) - but it's because there's so much to do, I'm only reading in between my errands/work. It's not 2 straight hours of reading - but I wish that was the case! :S

Mini Challenge:

Create a "Wordle" - The wordle for my blog is pretty well-suited to my blog. Apparently, "books" is the most commonly used word (are you surprised!?), and then "read", "supernaturally", "love","shopping" etc. I'd say that's pretty darn accurate! :) So here's my Wordle - hope you enjoy! 

~Spring Into Summer - Update #1~

Update:

• Total Books Read: 0
• Total Pages Read: 67
• Book I'm Currently Reading: "The Midwife's Confession" by Diane Chamberlain.
• Books Read Since Last Update: N/A
• Pages Read since last update: N/A
• Total time read: 40 minutes.
• How I'm currently feeling: Worried I won't be able to complete my goal given that I have so many things to do later on during the day. But going to continue to read.

Mini Challenge:

What is your favorite and least favorite movie adaptation of a book. 

Favorite book-movie adaptation: I believe my favorite book-to-movie adaptation was Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. You see, as much as I absolutely LOVE the Harry Potter adaptations, because they are so creative, Jurassic Park was my first foray into a "fantasy" like novel, which was turned into a movie. It was the first book of it's kind that I had read, and it being brought to life was just so absolutely exciting for me. Plus, as much as the book had made me interested in dinosaurs, I still didn't do half the research that the movie had employed; the result of which was the absolutely life-like dinosaur models, which totally surpassed my expectations. I loved it! 

Least favorite book-movie adaptation: My least favorite book-to-movie adaptation was "The Scarlet Letter", which starred Demi Moore. The Scarlet Letter was one of my most favorite classic novels, and the script was not an adaptation of the book at all. So MANY facts were changed, and I never really saw a reason why this was done. The beauty of that book lay in the amazing literary devices employed in it - such as allegory, and some of its biblical illusions. None of those were properly explored in the movie. I absolutely despise it when they change facts, historical facts at that, because that's not innovation, that's re-invention - and you cannot re-invent a classic!